


Not Only Thomas Shelby

by TheHoodedAssassin



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, References to Depression, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:01:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24120262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHoodedAssassin/pseuds/TheHoodedAssassin
Summary: It's Thomas Shelby's wedding day, and it seems to be an ordinary day.Until the Shelby family finds out that Elle Shelby, their sister, is dead.John seems to be the only one aware of why she decided to end her own life.So why did she do it?Who is at fault for what happened to her that caused her to break?
Relationships: Grace Burgess/Tommy Shelby
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is my first Peaky Blinders fanfic.
> 
> I have no idea what I'm doing at the moment. Ever since I've been stuck on season 4, i don't know what's happening.
> 
> Now, there will be issues with the dialogue since i watched the show in Russian, and I actually don't even know what half of the characters sound like originally.
> 
> This idea appeared in my head when i rewatched season one.
> 
> Grace didn't just betray Tommy. She betrayed the whole family.
> 
> And maybe Tommy forgave her, but it got me thinking.
> 
> Did everyone just forget what she did?
> 
> They could all have ended up in jail.
> 
> So here I created an OC.
> 
> Elle Shelby is a year younger than John.   
> She was a nurse during the war, and unlike Ada, she's fully in the Peaky Blinders business.

“No fucking fighting!”

Tommy wanted to make it clear to everyone that he wouldn’t want this day ruined.

The day had to be perfect for Grace.

At that moment some server with a tray walked by. Tommy was losing his mind so he pushed the young guy away.

“Get the fuck off me!”

The guy ran away as Arthur held Tommy back.

Tommy blew out some smoke.

Then he noticed that John was looking at the ground clearly not listening to the whole thing.

“John? Did you hear what I just said?!”

John looked up. 

The Shelby brothers never cried.

But at that moment it looked as though John would cry.

“Yeah Tommy.”

Tommy looked at Arthur.

“What the fuck is wrong with him? Actually you know, doesn’t matter. Today is my fuckin wedding day.”

Tommy looked around thinking of what else to say to the boys before the ceremony would begin.

At that moment John put his hat on and left the room ignoring all the looks.

No he would not sit in there and pretend that everything is fine.

Flashback….  
That morning….

John opened the letter that he got just an hour ago.

The letter was addressed to the whole Shelby family but he had to open it.

He ripped the envelope and unfolded the letter.

A few minutes later the room was a mess.

John’s knuckles were red from blood after he punched the wall one too many times.

He was sitting in the floor leaning against the wall with a cigarette hanging from his lips.

He would never forgive himself for what happened.

His sister Elle was gone.

Dead.

She killed herself yesterday by putting a bullet in her own head.

She killed herself just like their mother had.

Their little sister was dead. 

And Tommy was marrying the woman that was at fault for that.

Present…

Arthur followed John out of the room.

“The hell is wrong John?”

John leaned against the wall and looked at his older brother with a blank face.

“It’s Elle.”

Arthur looked confused.

“I know that she’s not here today, but what did you expect? We haven’t seen her since she left Birmingham.”

John shook his head.

“That’s not the problem Arthur. She’s gone.”

Arthur walked up closer to John.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

John looked at the ground.

“She’s dead. Killed herself just like mum.”

Arthur’s face paled.

“That’s gotta be a joke John. She ain’t dead.”

“She’s dead Arthur! She’s dead. Our sister is fuckin' dead. I received a letter this morning.”

Arthur leaned onto the wall beside his brother.

“Why’d she do it?”

John closed his eyes.

“I think I know the reason, but what happened… she asked me to never tell anyone. And I ain’t gonna break that promise.”

Arthur grabbed John by the collar of his shirt.

“Tell me John! I need to know why she’s dead!”

John pushed him away.

“Not now Arthur. I’ll tell you later.”

Arthur let go of John.

“Does Tommy know?”

John shook his head.

“It’s just the two of us.”

Arthur ran a hand through his hair.

“We can’t tell him now John. It’ll ruin his wedding day.”

Suddenly they heard Tommy walk up to them.

“What will ruin my wedding day?!”

Arthur turned to him.

“It’s nothing Tom. We’ll tell you later.”

John scoffed while Tommy looked frustrated.

“It’s not nothing Arthur! Elle is dead! Our little sister is dead.”

Tommy looked confused.

“What?”

John shook his head.

“You heard me Tommy. Elle is dead. She’s not here because she’s fucking killed herself.”

Tommy almost stumbled backwards.

He ran his hand through his hair before looking around the hallway.

Arthur waited for what would happen next.

Tommy punched the wall. Once. Twice. And then more until John stopped him.

Arthur looked around to see that no one was watching this.

“Polly doesn’t know yet.”

Tommy looked broken. He hasn’t had that look on his face ever since he got back with Grace.

John let go of Tommy.

“I’ll tell Pol. You go on and get married.”

Arthur and Tommy watched John walk away.

Tommy turned to Arthur.

“How do you know she’s dead?”

Arthur shrugged.

“John got a letter. He says he might know why she did that to herself. But he promised Elle not to tell us. I don’t know what to do Tom.”

Tommy clenched his jaw.

“I can’t let this ruin the wedding. Well have a family meeting tomorrow first thing in the morning.”

Arthur scoffed.

“Are you fuckin serious? Our sister is dead. And all you care about is your bloody wedding? You’re unbelievable.”

Arthur’s walked away not wanting to talk with his brother anymore.

Tommy punched the wall another time.

The day that was supposed to be perfect was ruined.

The wedding was ruined before it even began.

As Arthur passed a room he heard Polly cry.

Meant that John found her and told her everything.

Why did Elle kill herself?

Why now?

What was John not telling them?

Throughout the wedding Polly's eyes remained on the ground.

John was quiet which was unusual for him.

And Arthur didn’t know what to do.

Elle was younger than John by one year.

She was the opposite of Ada.

She didn’t mind getting her hands dirty. She was always doing the dirty work with her brothers.

She wore boys clothes saying that running in a dress was uncomfortable.

Elle followed her brothers to war as a field nurse.

And after the war she became a lot like Tommy. Always wanting more out of life.

Getting into more fights. Making sure people knew that even if she was a woman, no one fucked with the Shelby family.

At first the boys didn’t want her to be a part of the Peaky Blinders business but trouble seemed to follow her everywhere.

But she disappeared after the black star day.

Didn’t say a word. Not even to Polly.

She just packed her stuff and left to live with Ada.

She was always closest with John so he figured out that something happened the night that the cops went looking for the Shelby family.

That night she was supposed to meet up with Tommy and they would hide together, but Tommy ended up with Grace, leaving his sister alone.

Of course she felt betrayed.

But the next morning after shooting a few of Kimber’s men she disappeared.

There was something broken in her eyes that day. But no one could figure out what happened.

She didn’t even say goodbye.

They didn’t see each other until Tommy bought a house for Ada.

She looked different that day.

Gone were the trousers that she always wore. She was wearing a dress that went to her ankles and instead of boots she had high heels.

She had shorter hair and looked fragile.

They found out from Ada that she has taken a habit of getting drunk and even showed some interest in cocaine.

The only person she spoke to was John.

Since then, they haven’t seen her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part two.  
> If you're reading this.... Thank you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we'll see how the family meeting goes.
> 
> Another flashback.
> 
> Michael won't be at the family meeting cause i didn't wanna add him to this story.

Tommy’s wedding went well considering that they all found out that Elle committed suicide.

And then came the next morning with the family meeting.

Grace accompanied Tommy which John seemed to dislike.

“What is Grace doing here Tom?”

Tommy frowned.

“Weather you like it or not, she’s part of the family.”

John snorted.

“You should try telling that to Elle.”

Polly flashed John a glare.

“You promised her John. So keep your mouth shut.”

Tommy looked confused at the two of them.

“What the hell is this about John.”

Arthur sat down and looked up at John.

“Tell him John. Tell him exactly who he married.”

Tommy looked at Grace for a second.

“I don’t know what you fuckers are hiding from me, but…”

Polly cut him off.

“It doesn’t matter anymore Tommy. Elle is dead. Either way she isn’t coming back.”

Tommy slammed his fist on the table.

“I want to know why my sister is fucking dead!”

John stood walked up to Tommy.

“You wanna know why our sister is dead Tom? Yeah? It’s because of her!”

He pointed at Grace.

He clenched his jaw.

“I never said anything about you and Grace. But you’re forgetting that she didn’t just betray you, she betrayed the whole family!”

Tommy looked angry.

“Well she’s my wife. And I have forgiven her.”

“Well I haven’t! And Ellie will never forgive her! But it’s not only Grace. It’s you too Tommy! You wanna know what happened? Well here’s what bloody happened that day..”

Flashback….  
Birmingham 1922... (season 2)

John noticed the way that Elle looked different. 

She was too slim, too pale, and always had this broken look on her face.

“What’s wrong Elle?”

“What are you talking about John?”

He took the cigarette that she was holding.

“Don’t pretend you’re fine Elle. Look at yourself! You don’t look like my sister anymore!”

“People change.”

He scoffed.

“Oh come on. If you want I’ll promise to never tell anyone. Not even Polly. Just tell me why you left Birmingham, and why you look like you’re about fuckin collapse!”

A tear ran down her cheek.

John hasn’t seen her cry since the war.

“The black star day. The night before that. I was supposed to meet up with Tommy, and we would hide in one of the old basements that belonged to communist. But he never showed up. So I went there alone.”

She wiped her tears.

“Grace. She was my friend. She was my only friend. No one else wanted to be friends with the girl that cuts out tongues and blinds people alongside her brothers. And we all know that she betrayed us all.”

John looked confused so she continued.

“I trusted her. I told her where I would hide that night. I didn’t think she would sell me out to Campbell.”

John looked furious.

“She told Campbell where you were?! He found you didn’t he?”

She nodded.

“He came there with 9 men. There was 10 people that came into that small basement. I had a gun with 6 bullets. I managed to kill 6 of them. And the last four attacked me. I couldn’t fight them all.”

She looked at the ground before continuing.

“Campbell said that Grace sold me out to keep Tommy safe. Also mentioned that Tommy was spending the night with her. I felt so betrayed knowing that he chose some barmaid over his own sister! I’m his sister, yet he left me alone, for what? For a good fuck. I couldn’t stay there after what Campbell did.”

John sat beside Elle. Anger was all he could think of.

“What did he do to you Elle?!”

She hugged him and buried her head in his coat as she cried.

“The three coppers that came with him, they held me down, as he.. he.. God, why didn’t Tommy show up?!”

She looked angrily at John.

“How could he leave me there?! Why?! Why did Campbell put his hands on me?! I know I’ve done awful things! But did I really deserve to be raped by 4 coppers!?”

John hugged her tighter.

How could they all have been so blind to what happened to their own sister? 

And they all were mad at her for leaving.

But knowing what happened he felt guilt.

He wasn’t there either to protect his little sister. Neither of them were there.

John hugged her even tighter, trying to control the anger he felt.

“Are you sure you don’t want Polly to know?”

Elle pulled away from the hug and whipped her face with her hand.

“No. Even Ada doesn’t know. No one else should know. I’m a Shelby. I won’t let 4 stupid coppers ruin my life.”

Present...

“That’s what fucking happened Tommy! She broken because your fuckin wife decided to sell out your sister, so she could get you to fuck her that night! Our sister is dead because of it! You saw her when she moved in with Ada! She looked fuckin awful! And now she’s fuckin dead.”

Tommy sat down beside Arthur.

His eyes weren’t focused on anything.

But John was nowhere near done.

“So how does it feel Tommy? To know that your sister was raped because you chose to go with Grace instead! Tell me Tommy! Tell me you fuckin bastard! Our sister is dead because you and your wife!”

Tommy couldn’t bring himself to look up at John.

He was right after all. He left his little sister alone to go with Grace.

He left her there, and she was raped because she couldn’t fight off all the damn coppers. Meanwhile he was getting fucked.

And Grace…

She sold out his sister to Campbell to get his attention away from Tommy.

John was right.

Grace did not betray just him.

She betrayed the whole family.

And Elle. Their little Elle was dead.

She was strong.

The war didn’t break her.

It made her stronger.

And now she was dead.

Took away her own life like their mother.

And now Tommy was married to the woman that did this to Elle.

That basement was well hidden and coppers didn’t know about it.

“Is it true Grace?”

His voice was almost a whisper.

John looked furious.

Polly had red eyes trying not to cry.

Finn was trying to make himself unnoticeable in the corner of the room.

Arthur’s looked broken.

And then there he was.

Thomas Shelby with that famous blank expression on his face.

Grace was looking away.

Tommy looked up at Grace.

“Is it true Grace?”

She looked at Tommy.

But she couldn’t answer.

How could she? 

Elle was her friend, and she sold her out to Campbell.

Tommy looked more and more angry with every passing second.

“Tell me Grace. Is it true? That you sold out my sister to Campbell?”

She nodded.

He opened his mouth slightly in shock.

“And you knew exactly what he would do to her?”

Grace looked up at Tommy.

“I thought he would go there with only a few coppers. I saw her fight. I thought she would be able to run away or fight of a few of his men.”

Tommy looked around the room.

Everyone avoided his eyes.

They blamed him for it too.

Polly was right.

Love and lust made him blind.

He promised his sister he would be there. But he wasn’t.

The worst part was that he was angry when she left.

And John seemed to be the only one who tried to find out why she left.

Tommy walked to his desk and took out a bottle of whiskey.

“The meeting’s over. I want to mourn for Elle alone.”

With those words he walked out of the room.

Arthur was the next to leave, taking Finn with him.

Then it was John.

He glared at Grace before closing the door behind himself.

Grace was about to leave when Polly spoke.

“I told you. I told you that he may forget what you’ve done. But I will never forgive you. That girl is dead because of you! She had her whole life ahead. But instead she became a drunk who enjoyed cocaine more than a warm meal. I don’t care what happens now with you and Thomas. But no one else in this family will ever even look at you.”

Polly walked out leaving Grace alone.

She sat down on the chair nearest to her.

Would Thomas ever forgive her?

She has changed since then.

She didn’t see the world the same way since that day. But how could he forgive her?

She told Campbell where the girl would be.

Elle trusted her.

And she was dead now.

Probably it was because she heard that Tommy was marrying Grace.

That’s what probably broke her. Knowing that her brother has forgiven the one who was at fault for all her miseries.

And now she would always remember this.

The fact that she betrayed the whole family.

Not only Thomas Shelby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you, if you're reading this.
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome.
> 
> If you wanna know more of what happened then please leave a comment, cause I'll probably write one or two more short stories like this.
> 
> 1\. Elle's pov. Why and how she committed suicide.  
> 2\. The night when Tommy chose Grace over Elle. 
> 
> Anyway, i hoped you enjoyed this, though you probably didn't cause I suck at writing.  
> :)

**Author's Note:**

> If people actually read this then I might write a couple more one-shots connected to this story.  
> One where we see what happened to Elle during that night. And another when Elle decides to end her own life.
> 
> Please leave a review.
> 
> Hate isn't welcome. Constructive criticism is welcome, because I want to improve my writing.  
> If you're reading this, that means you probably read the story. For that I thank you.
> 
> :)


End file.
